As is well known many people today own pleasure boats which have high powered motors that are ideal for water skiing as well as high speed cruising across large and small bodies of water. Many of these boats are propelled by inboard engines, outboard engines or inboard/outboard engines and have V or Tri-Hull type construction. With this hull configuration, they are capable of maneuvering at their intended high speeds, but this power and design becomes very inefficient at slow speeds.
In addition, most persons can only afford to own one boat at a time and it is desirable to be able to utilize these boats for other purposes, such as fishing. Fishing, however, requires very slow speeds and maneuverability. Because of the size of the engine usually found in pleasure boats it is nearly impossible or at least very inefficient to try to move these boats for fishing and trolling by using the boat's existing engine or motor.
In the past, various devices have been attached to the power unit of the motor directly behind the propeller to disturb the water flow from the propeller and substantially negate the thrust of the propeller in order to make the boat move slowly through the water. Naturally, this type of usage for a large motor and a propeller is rather cumbersome and produces problems and undesirable conditions.
Other proposed answers to this problem have been to mount a small secondary outboard motor on the transom of the boat and use this motor for trolling when slow speed is desired. It has been found in many cases that this is a very expensive proposition in that a complete second outboard motor, usually gasoline powered, is required. This type of motor also requires a separate gas tank stored on the boat and connected by a fuel line directly to the auxiliary engine. This not only creates a messy appearance but also produces a fire hazard because the gasoline is usually stored in a relatively open area at the stern of the boat. This area is usually where many people congregate or desire to fish and therefore, produces a totally undesirable condition.
Another problem that exists with mounting a secondary or auxiliary outboard motor on the transom of the boat is that the motor must be offset from the centerline of the boat because of the positioning of the primary motor or propulsion unit. In addition, because of the fact that the secondary outboard motor is usually cantilevered beyond the rear of the transom it is difficult to reach and steer the motor. For this reason, in some cases, a tie-bar is used to tie the secondary outboard motor to the primary steering mechanism of the boat. Although this arrangement can be extremely cumbersome, it helps to alleviate some of the problem. This does not, however, make it any easier to control the speed of the secondary motor since the controls on this motor are usually mechanical and any adjustments must be made at the motor itself.
Trolling motors, especially electrically powered trolling motors, have been well known in recent years. These motors are very easy to handle and only require the addition of a relatively safe electrical power source such as a battery. In addition, these motors although of relatively low power can be quite efficient and quiet in maneuvering and controlling a boat while fishing. In fact, these motors are commonly used on the front of small flat bottomed fishing boats, sometimes called "bass boats". This type of propulsion in addition to being quiet and efficient can have foot operated controls to actually operate the motor remotely by foot movement so that the fisherman can use his hands for other purposes such as casting and landing fish.
Up to now there has been no good way of combining the advantages of a fishing boat and the electric trolling motor to the high powered pleasure boat. For this reason, the present invention provides a novel arrangement for combining the advantages of the electric trolling motor with the high powered pleasure boat to allow the owner the benefit of being able to use his boat for multiple purposes.